Cheap shot.

So I found my first personal statement:

" I remember Johnny, a 15 year old working with his parents at the closest market in the neighborhood. He was well known for working at the counter. He was a good guy, not a close friend, but an acquaintance I spoke with whenever I shopped. Johnny was murdered on July 30^th, 2004; another victim of senseless inner-city violence. His death became a legend in the neighborhood. It was a harsh reality check, to know that I was living in an urban setting where an unwanted shooting like Johnny’s was bound to occur. Yet there is one path to lowering crimes and raising hopes: education.

I want to leave the neighborhood and be successful. Living here for the rest of my life would be unacceptable; I do not want to end up like Johnny. I want a future in the same sense that my parents did when they left El Salvador and immigrated to the United States. I was embedded with the “American Dream” just like my parents, yet I was born here. It is ironic how feelings of hope and security are the real benefits of the doctor my parents want me to be, yet they think it is the money. Of course, I never want to be a doctor but I know that to leave my neighborhood and achieve what can only be my “Dream,” one path will allow me to reach that goal: education.

Once I am in college, with the same determination that motivated me to work past my urban middle school and through my rigorous high school, I will succeed through my education. Reality checks will be a thing of the past because I will be the only one managing my future, not my parents, and more importantly, not my neighborhood."

It's not that I don't consider myself smart enough, but I'm still unsure if I deserved to get into UCSD with my decent grades and lack of volunteer work. I think I deserved it now because this statement, as touchy as it is, sounds very rushed.

I do write about the truth though. Every once in a while I walk past candles or photos of people who once lived. Children and adults alike. Its one of the reasons I can't bare to listen to some rap for too long. It really seems like certain people are trying to cash in on stories that are not theirs to tell.

And apparently I was doing just that on this essay...I deeply regret that now.

Thankfully this essay was poorly written, otherwise I would think that this was the sole reason I got into the school. I had this thought on my mind nearly all last year since I never had a chance to re-read it. All I had was my other personal statement on dinosaurs. I love that one. I think that that one got me into the school hahahahah.